Greenpeace needed to visualize the worsening case of plastic pollution so we created a 73-foot decomposing blue whale on the shores of one of the most polluted cities in the country.

We used almost 160 kilos worth of plastic wastes collected from the ocean, and visualized a realistic dead whale with sprawling innards from its bloated underbelly, to catch the attention of locals within the area.

As we unveiled the dead whale, it immediately went viral online through a social post from one of the locals. It got picked up on social media because of its stark difference from other beached sea creatures—it’s big, brutal, and terrifying. Then when people realized it was made entirely of plastic wastes, people started talking about the issue of plastic pollution in our oceans, and joined Greenpeace’s call to the ASEAN leaders to recognize the issue.

The 73 feet Dead Whale was created using 160 kilos of plastic wastes collected from the ocean. We crafted it to appear real and lifelike, and it caught the attention of locals who posted the photos online. With social media as the main communication platform of the campaign, the Dead Whale immediately went viral through photos, explainer-type news videos, and news content, enough to call the attention of ASEAN leaders.

To give it further context, we distributed media releases that were used in publishing every relevant article to the “Dead Whale” and the ASEAN summit on Coastal and Marine Development.

Awareness was the main objective of the campaign which was fitting for the ASEAN Summit on Coastal and Marine Development that commenced in the Philippines.

With ZERO media spend, the campaign totaled 1.5 Billion impressions in over 100 countries. Top news sites covered the news: CNN Philippines, The Telegraph, People’s Daily China, and more.

News publications and channels: TV5 News PH, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ADN40 Mexico, ARTE 28 France, Nation TV Thailand, Vinhlong TV Vietnam, and more.

Most importantly, the issue was included in a proposal for the next ASEAN summit, just one day after the launch. (Source: “ASEAN elevates coastal, marine environment protection bid”, May 12, 2017, https://www.asean2017.ph/asean-elevates-coastal-marine-environment-protection-bid/)

The campaign played a big role in putting ocean more firmly on the agenda in 2017, triggering other campaigns such as Sky Ocean Plastics. Dead Whale positioned Greenpeace as a leader in the field as part of the #breakfreefromplastics campaign.

The campaign utilized the news angle of the ‘Dead Whale’. Everything was done with perfect timing; it was unveiled on the morning of the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit on Coastal and Marine Development, locals were encouraged to post photos online, and a news media reporter immediately covered the stunt, live on social media. In the first few hours, the posts were shared and retweeted organically by netizens while the live news report captured the interest of other news media sites and channels who later on covered the story as well.

The idea sparked when the team heard about the consecutive news reports on dead whales in Europe and in the Philippines. What struck them most about these reports were the plastic wastes found in the dead whales’ stomachs.

Because the Philippines is the third highest contributor of plastic wastes in the world, the team thought of creating an installation of a dead blue whale made of plastic wastes from the ocean—a dramatic representation of our dying marine life.

The primary target audience are the heads of state of ASEAN members, through their respective political advisors and teams who attended the 2017 ASEAN Summit in the Philippines. The message was politically crafted in order to reach them through the media and through direct communication using the installation.

The campaign also aimed to create awareness among the general public on the gravity of plastic waste pollution.

The Philippines is the third highest contributor of plastic wastes in the ocean, in the entire world. We’ve bared witness to this throughout years of alarming news of beached sea creatures found in our shore lines. Already, the ocean is filled with 275 million tons of plastics. The cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean from land is predicted to increase by 2025. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, plastics in the ocean will outweigh fish by 2050.

ASEAN countries, due to their lengthy coastlines and high plastic usage, are some of the primary sources of marine plastics globally and coincidentally, Philippines is the chair of the 2017 ASEAN Summit. Greenpeace wanted to take advantage of this opportune time to call on ASEAN members to take concrete measures against plastic pollution.